Story Ideas

Major Hat Trick

Kyle Orne '12

By Frank Radosevich IIMay 3, 2012

When graduating senior Kyle Orne recites his majors of study at Bradley, most people don’t understand what they are hearing. The reason is because Orne has three of them — English, political science and Spanish.

“Most people assume one or two of them are minors,” said Orne, a native of Phoenix. “They’re just interesting subjects.”

But Orne, who started at Bradley just studying political science, said fielding three majors is a demanding but worthwhile endeavor. Besides letting him explore his favorite subjects, a triple major has taught Orne how to handle an on-the-go schedule. Though studying and playing on the men’s soccer team kept him busy, Orne found time to work a part-time job and apply for law school.

“You have to learn early on how to manage time correctly,” he said.

He chose to attend Bradley partly because of its successful soccer program and strong academics.

“I wanted a good balance between the two,” said Orne, who was the team’s goalkeeper. “I like how soccer is a bigger deal here than most schools.”

Orne will attend law school at Arizona State next year and said his trio of majors prepares him well for a career as a lawyer. The reasoning of politics and the critiquing of literature taught him how to fashion convincing arguments and express them clearly. His fluency in Spanish will come in handy studying and, possibly, working in the American Southwest.

Nicole Meyer, director of the Pre-Law Center at Bradley, said Orne had completed the first step for applying to law school — thinking through why he wanted to attend and what he wanted to do after graduation. She helped him then navigate the intricate application process.

“Kyle was ahead of the game,” she said. “With him it was really getting into the nitty-gritty for applying to law school.”

For his part, Orne said the advice and guidance he received from the center was invaluable. Out of the seven universities to which he applied, Orne was accepted at five and placed on a wait list for the sixth.

“She helped me narrow it down to a level where it was manageable,” he said of working through the application process with Meyer. “She was there at the very beginning.”